How to Unzip Files on Mac | Parallels

Double-click on the zipped file to unzip any zipped file on your Mac. · This will prompt the Archive Utility tool to unzip the files in the same folder the ... ZipaFileZipaFolderUnzipFilesUnzipRARFilesUnzip7zFiles TryNow TableofContents WhatisaZIPfile? AreZIPfilesdangerous? HowtounzipafileonMac Whatdoesitmeantoextractfiles? WhatisaZIPfile? AZIPfileisasinglefilethatholdsoneormorecompressedfilesorfolders.Itprovidesawaytocompresslargefiles,encryptfiles,splitarchives,andkeeprelatedfilestogetherforstorageortransportation.ThinkofthewayaMacfolderworks.YoudraganddropdocumentsandfilesintoafoldertokeepyourMac'sdesktopuncluttered. ZIPfilesworkthesameway.ButthefilesinsidetheZIPfilearecompressedtosavespace.Italsomakesiteasytosendorsharecontentonline.Youcan'tsendafolderviaemail.IftheMacfoldercontains10files,you'llhavetoemail10individualfiles,whichisdaunting.ZIPfilescomeinhandyastheyallowyoutoZIPupallthe10filesintooneZIPgroupandshareitwithanotherperson.AndsinceZIPfilesarecompressed,yourtotalfilesizewillbesmallerandwilltakelesstimetoupload,andtherecipientwillalsobeabletodownloaditmorequickly. AreZIPfilesdangerous? ZIPfilebundlesmultiplefilesintoasinglecontainerfileandalsocompressesthem.ThesetwofeaturesmaketheZIPfileformatoneofthemostcommonwayspeoplesharefilesandcollectionsoffilesonline.Unfortunately,cybercriminalsalsouseZIPfilestoadvancetheircourse.Usually,ZIPfilesdon'tdisplaytheircontent.UnlessaMacuserusesthird-partysoftware,theycannottellwhat'sinsidethezippedfolderwithoutopeningthefile.So,ZIPfilesaren'tdangerous.Buttheycanpotentiallybe-whencybercriminalsusethemtoinfiltrateMacsystems. TheabilitytoconcealcontentiswhatmakesZIPfilesahacker'sbestfriend.AsmuchasaMachasabuilt-indefensemechanism,attackersuseZIParchivestosurpassthedefense,infectthecomputerandcollectinformationaboutthesystem.SpammersalsouseZIPfilesasphishingbait,wheretheycamouflagethemselvesasabank,businesspartner,friend,oremployer,andinstructtherecipienttotakespecificaction. HowtounzipafileonMac TherearethreewaystounzipfilesonMac:youcandouble-clickonthezippedfile,right-clickandclickopenwithArchiveUtilityorusethird-partysoftware.Let'slookatthesewaysclosely: Doubleclickthezippedfile Double-clickonthezippedfiletounzipanyzippedfileonyourMac. ThiswillprompttheArchiveUtilitytooltounzipthefilesinthesamefolderthezippedfileisin. Clickappropriateiconstoaccesstheextractedfiles. Right-clickthezippedfileandopenitwithArchiveUtility Alternatively,youcanright-clickonthezippedfolder. SelectOpentounzipyourfileifArchiveUtilityissetasyourdefault. Ifit'snot,right-clickandclickOpenWith,andchooseArchiveUtility. Clickappropriateiconstoaccesstheextractedfiles. Usethirdpartysoftware Somefileformats,likeRoshalArchive(RAR),needsoftwaretounzipandturnthemintoafolder.So,ifyouwanttounzipsuchfilesonMac,you'llneedtogetgoodsoftwaretohelpyouwiththis.ParallelsdoesagreatjobofdecompressingdifferentformatslikeTar,7z,andRAR.Withsuchsoftware,youcanchangethedefaultextractiondestination,createanewfolderforextractfiles,andautomaticallyopenthefoldersoncetheextractionisdone.SohowdoyouunzipafileonMacusingsoftwarelikeParallels? Downloadthesoftware. Theprogramwillpromptyoutothefilesyouwanttoopen. SelecttheRARor7zfileyouwanttheprogramtoopen. ClicktheExtractionbuttontospecifyhowyouwanttheprogramtomanagethefolder. Right-clickonthefileandchooseOpenwithandParallels.Choosethedestinationforyourfilefolder. Clicktheextractbutton. Whatdoesitmeantoextractfiles? Extractisthesamethingasunzipandmeanstorestoreoriginalfilesfromacompressedarchivetoanalternatelocation.You'llneedtounziporextractfilesfirstbeforeyoucanworkwiththem.